I'm planning on ordering more. I love the textured finish. A coat of Seche or two will smooth and shine them up for you as well.

The Brushed Metals have an intro price of $3.49 in Campaign 18 and the Opal Top Coat $3.99 also in Campaign 18. After that campaign, they will be $6. So depending on where you live, C-18 should begin in the middle to late August.

What do you think? Remember flakies from a couple of years ago? I missed them!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

If a product says "pore penetrating," I'm on it. Congested skin is something that has plagued me since moving to North Carolina over 2 years ago. I'm not sure if it's the humidity, hormones, age, water, the constant testing out of products... But I never remember my pores this filled up or my skin this oily.

So I'm always trying to clear out my pores and thoroughly cleanse my skin. My huge purchase of a Clarisonic Mia at the end of last year has helped with cleansing tremendously. However, my oil slick, not so much, but I will take what I can get.

What I found intriguing about AVON's Black Mineral Mask is that it contains Salicylic Acid 0.5% and my skin responds well to SA. So I thought I would give it shot!

I'm not going to sugar coat it, this product contains a lot of chemicals. In recent years I have preferred more natural products... Hydrated Silica is the 2nd ingredient which gives the product a gel like feel to it, rather than a clay like consistency. It spreads out nicely over the skin. Ethylhexyl palmitate is listed as the 3rd ingredient which is an emollient/fragrance.

Starting with the 5th ingredient we get to the "minerals." Bentonite (clay), magnesium aluminum silicate, camellia sinesis leaf extract, eucalyptus globulus leaf extract, some other skin conditioners, preservatives, colorants, more fragrance and witch hazel makes an appearance as well.

On to the review!

AVON Clearskin pore penetrating Black Mineral Mask is a comfortable gel-like consistency that glides on to the face. It is dark gray and dries to a light gray.

Exhibit A: Silly Mask Face

I did feel a slight cooling sensation but not anything more than the mask drying on my face. I did not feel any irritating tingling etc.

In terms of pore penetrating, it definitely absorbs oil as you can see in the photos above. It doesn't feel tight or overly drying. It feels just right. After I washed it off with the whitest towel I could have found (oops!) my skin felt clean and hydrated and my pores were left tightened.

I really like that it doesn't feel like your skin is stripped of all it's oils. I have found after using Queen Helene's Mint Julep mask which I do love, my skin fights back with major rebound oil, which I find really annoying but would just put up with because it did a great job of clearing out that dirt and oil.

This mask didn't miraculously eliminate all my blackheads after one use but I will definitely continue using this 2-3 times a week as instructed on the package and I will update my final results when I finish the tube!

AVON Clearskin Pore Penetrating Black Mineral Mask contains 7.5mL (2.5 fl oz) of product and will have an introductory price of $3.99 in Campaign 18 (next month). After C-18, this product will retail for $6.99.

Monday, July 29, 2013

AVON's newest mascara installment is in my hot little hands! In terms of revolutionary design, this is it. I've never seen anything quite like it! I will admit, I had to read the instructions in order to figure out how to take the cap off. :)

Per instructions on the package:

1. "Grip at sides and remove cap."

2. "Rock brush from side to side to pull out."

I do recommend rocking the applicator a few times in order to remove excess product from the wand. And be careful not to apply the mascara to your eyeball. It will sting. Using this product does come with a slight learning curve. It's probably just me though. ;)

Here are my naked, sparser than usual, uncurled lashes...

Here is with one coat. It definitely lengthens very nicely, with little effort.

When trying to build up this product, it gets spidery/clumpy real fast on me.

But the wand/applicator is so unique that you can hold it horizontal for one quick swipe or vertically to get every lash, section by section. (I don't usually like to apply mascara on my bottom lashes or inner corner as my eyes tend to water quite easily in the sunlight, a/c, wind, you name it. I will have mascara running under my eyes in no time.)

I think the only issues that I will run into is the drying out factor. I see that happening very quickly. For the first few applications this mascara is very wet and straightened out my lashes. Now that it has dried out slightly, my curl will hold. My lashes are super straight though. I have to curl them before and after most mascaras. For the pictures above, I did not curl my lashes...

I feel that AVON Mega Effects mascara is very comparable to higher end mascaras. It retails for $10 right now which so far I think is a fair price for the .3oz of product. Urban Decay's Supercul Curling mascara has been in heavy rotation for a while now and after trying Mega Effects, I'm not missing it yet. Plus it saves me 10 bucks! :)

This is my second favorite mascara from AVON. I really enjoyed using SuperSHOCK for years. I do go back to it every once in a while during a sale. SuperSHOCK runs around $8 so slightly less expensive. It dries out pretty quickly too but I never really was too concerned since I could always pick it up on a sale.

So when was the last time you flipped through an AVON brochure? It's probably about time! I have a few more AVON product reviews coming up soon!

A little disclaimer...

As you may already know, all product reviews and opinions expressed on Savvy Beauty are that of my own. I love all things beauty and whether or not I buy products for myself or on the rare occasion that I receive a product for review, only honest opinions based upon my personal experience will be shared.